Thursday, September 04, 2014

Mets Minor League Roundup 9/3: L.J. Mazzilli's single in 8th comes up big for Vegas in playoff win #1

Mets Minor League Roundup 9/3:

LAS VEGAS 5, RENO 4: L.J. Mazzilli’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning today scored Cory Vaughn with the winning run for the Las Vegas 51s in a 5-4 victory against the visiting Reno Aces in the first game of a five-game Pacific Coast League playoff series. Rafael Montero allowed three runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision. Kevin Plawecki had a solo homer in the sixth that evened the score at 3. Cory Vaughn earlier went deep. The series continues Thursday with Matthew Bowman starting for the 51s. Box

BINGHAMTON 8, PORTLAND 5: T.J. Rivera produced a walk-off three-run homer in the ninth to complete a comeback from a four-run deficit as the B-Mets won the opener of their best-of-five Eastern Division Championship Series. Rivera finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBIs. Binghamton closed the game with seven unanswered runs. With the score tied at 5 in the ninth and one out, Xorge Carrillo reached on third baseman Mike Miller's error. Noe Ramirez then surrendered a single to Wilfredo Tovar. Kyle Johnson pinch ran for Carrillo. After a strikeout, Rivera hammered the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall.

Trailing 5-2 an inning earlier, the B-Mets pulled even. Tovar produced a leadoff double against Robby Scott. With one out, Rivera doubled to plate Tovar. Brian Burgamy then walked to end Scott’s night. Ramirez entered to face Jayce Boyd, who reached on second baseman Sean Coyle's error. Rivera scored on the play and Burgamy advanced to third base. Darrell Ceciliani's sacrifice fly tied the score at 5. Cody Satterwhite (1-0) then worked a scoreless ninth to set up the walk-off win.

After B-Mets starter Tyler Pill retired the first 11 batters he faced, Coyle homered to tie the score at 1. The Sea Dogs appeared to have blown the game open in the sixth. Rusney Castillo single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and stole third. Kuery De La Cruz then had a tiebreaking RBI single. Following a single by Carson Blair, Dave Chester belted a three-run homer for a 5-1 lead. Binghamton inched closer in the bottom of the frame. Rivera doubled with one out. A batter later, Boyd singled home the runner to cut the deficit to 5-2. Pill tossed 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on six hits. He has not taken a loss since May 5 (18 appearances).

Hansel Robles contributed 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings. Tovar finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. It was the first win postseason win for the B-Mets at NYSEG Stadium since Sept. 10, 2004.

The B-Mets and Sea Dogs play Game 2 of the series on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. in Binghamton. Greg Peavey starts for the B-Mets. Box

ASHEVILLE 8, SAVANNAH 3: Starter Robert Gsellman allowed five runs in five innings as Savannah lost the opener of its best-of-three opening-round series. Paul Paez allowed three runs in the bottom of the sixth as Asheville took an 8-2 lead. The game included a two-hour, 13-minute rain delay later in that frame. Champ Stuart had a first-inning solo homer in the loss. First-round pick Michael Conforto went 2-for-5 with a double and RBI in his South Atlantic League debut. The series resumes Friday in Savannah with John Gant on the mound. Box